Royale Without Cheese

Voltamos a falar de cinema português, desta vez com “Os Verdes Anos” de Paulo Rocha. Achamos o filme particularmente interessante como cápsula do tempo, pelos seus diálogos e as localizações lisboetas que filma; no entanto, tem alguns problemas nos seu desenvolvimento narrativo.

It’s double bill time an the Royale boys discuss Coppola’s “Dracula” and “Megalopolis”. Things get tense when Miguel reveals he didn’t particulary like Dracula, which upsets Tomás who loves the film to death. The perspectives on “Megalopolis” are more unanimous, it’s an imperfect film, but it has some strong points.

Hoje discutimos o celebrado “Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives” de Apichatpong. É um filme sereno e que é preciso estar no mood certo para ver, mas tem imensas ideias interessantes e momentos de grande beleza.

Juntem-se à nossa discussão sobre “What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?”. Falamos sobre a performance incrível de Bette Davis e a feud com Joan Crawford, assim como alguns dos nossos problemas com a narrativa do filme.

The Royale boys discuss one of the most celebrated films of all time, Chaplin’s “City Lights”. It has a purity and beauty that is hard to describe, the final scene being the epitome of its power - a simple exchange of looks that hits you right in the feelings.

We take a look at the underseen Russian comedy “Beware of the Car”. We found this to be a very charming film, full of heart and funny moments, which helps us reflect about the fact we stereotypically think of Russian films as very depressing and serious.

Visitamos a mente peculiar de Ingmar Bergman, olhando para o seu filme “A Hora do Lobo”. Apesar de ser um filme um pouco impenetrável em certos momentos, não deixa de nos impressionar com a força das imagens, o mood misterioso e o lugares surrealistas a que nos leva.

Hoje reencontramos Pedro Almodovar com o seu filme recente, “O Quarto ao Lado”. Achámos o filme relativamente contido e leve tendo em conta as sensibilidades do realizador e o temas que aborda, e as performances de Julianne Moore e Tilda Swinton trazem um grande poder emocional ao filme.

Today we’re joined by Lesley Loksi Chan to discuss her award-winning film “Lloyd Wong, Unfinished”. We talk about how Lesley was first approached to make this film and her journey throughout the whole process, and what her approach was to honor Lloyd’s images.

Today we welcome filmmaker Jake Abraham to the RWC table, and he brought Leone’s “Once Upon a Time America” for discussion. It’s an engrossing but challenging film, especially because of the main character’s horrible actions. Still, Leone is a master at what he does and there’s so much here to discuss and dwell on, so come on in and take a listen…

We dive into the art-house epic of the year, "The Brutalist". The impressive scope and its strong first half give the film a lot of strength; however, the narrative loses a bit of potency in the second half. Very intellectually stimulating, nonetheless...

Today we discuss a tough one, folks... "Emília Pérez" is a mysterious work of filmmaking, which left us perplexed, and we very much disliked it. It looks like a boring serious TV-Drama, lacks visual imagination, and we don't believe it approaches Mexican culture and trans people with the proper respect they deserve. Are we missing something?

Hoje discutimos a falhas e virtudes de “Anora” de Sean Baker. O filme tem um balanço muito bem conseguido entre a comédia e o drama, e toma umas decisões narrativas inesperadas e interessantes; no entanto, sentimos que podia ter havido mais desenvolvimento da interioridade das personagens.

Juntem-se à nossa discussão de “All We Imagine as Light” de Payal Kapadia. Ficámos impressionados com a beleza deste filme, que demonstra muita empatia e atenção aos gestos das personagens. Para alem disso, as duas atrizes principais são excelentes, capturam perfeitamente as vidas de duas mulheres de gerações diferentes.

We join the high stakes world of cardinals and priests to discuss the shortcomings of “Conclave”. It’s an interesting film for its unique context, but we felt some disconnection to it - when it focuses on the politics of the conclave, it’s pretty fun; but in regards to the personal drama of Cardinal Lawrence, we didn’t really feel it was very interesting. Plus: it has some very TV-show-like sensib...

The Royale boys take the substance and reveal their honest thoughts on why the film didn’t quite work for them. Despite Demi Moore’s great performance, we felt the story was somewhat one note and its world too thin and cartoonish to register emotionally. And despite the amazing and creative moments of body horror, we felt it was lacking creativity in other aspects: for example, its surface level d...

Chegou a época dos Óscares e começamos por discutir um dos nossos filmes favoritos de 2024, “Challengers” de Luca Guadagnino. Discutimos o que torna o filme tão cativante, assim como o que torna as personagens e a relação triangular tão interessantes.

Apesar da sua idade avançada, Clint Eastwood não descansa e está de volta com “Juror #2”, mais um filme interessante do veterano que explora um dilema moral. É um filme muito sólido e construído com mestria, e ficámos especialmente impressionados como o filme acaba por não cair em idealismos forçados e irrealistas.

Join us as we dive into the mysterious, but hypnotic “A Page of Madness”, a silent masterpiece from Kinugasa Teinosuke. We discuss how confusing the film can be, but how that’s also part of the beauty of it; and we try to make sense of the plot and all the imagery.

Today we discuss the classic “The Night of the Hunter”, directed by Charles Laughton. We talk about Robert Mitchum’s amazing performance, as well as the supporting cast, including Lilian Gish’s appearance as a tough but caring old woman; and we talk about the fairy tale feel of the film.

Join our nostalgia boat in our discussion about the 2000s Hit Fantasy Film "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Withc and the Wardrobe", directed by Michael Anderson. It seems that the RWC hosts are looking at this dear old film with new eyes since their childhood days and that is to say, with not a great new impression. Come and hear us talk about Narnia's character development and narrative...

Join us as we detail why Tim Burton's "Edward Scissorhands" is not all is CUT UP to be! Despite its poignant visual flair and whimsical prowess that only Burton can conjure and a strong performance from Johnny Depp, what's certain is that a couple of hosts found it more of an exercise in style and pastiche while a third could see the beauty at its core. Find out more in this episode!

Hoje, em mais um episódio do nosso segmento, Double Bill, exploramos duas peças examplares da Obra de Paul Thomas Andreson, "There Will be Blood" e "Licorice Pizza", representando tanto a sua tendência por estranhos épicos Históricos e comédias juvenis. Discutimos os temas e ideias transversais aos dois filmes como a procura da identidade e sucesso pessoal, relações de co-dependência e o uso eclét...

Today we are joined by Alex Heeney of Seventh Row podcast to discuss Andrew Haigh's "45 years". We take a deep dive into how the relationship between the main characters is portrayed and how the flaws and complexities of each of them are displayed by the film's structure and Haigh's blocking.

This week we talk to "Anora" cinematographer Drew Daniels to discuss his newest collaboration with Sean Baker. Drew reflects on the trials and tribulations of the shoot as well as what makes his work with Sean Baker so rewarding.